A Year in the Woods Eating Wild Food

Fergus Drennan is a t.v. star, best known for his show "The Roadkill Chef" and now, as of April Fool's Day, he is living for a year entirely off wild food found in the forest. Most notorious because he only eats meat from dead animals he finds along the road, he has a fascinating story to tell of commitment to the environment and sustainability. He used to earn his living finding and delivering exotic fresh wild ingredients to some of London's smartest restaurants. Now he runs seminars in the wild, teaching others to forage for themselves, has a blog, and is writing a cookbook.

His entire day is spent searching and preparing food. He gets up at 5 in the morning and thinks "Which woods am I going to today?" He snacks on hairy bittercress and eats nettle soup. Time management is an incredible issue. For example he spent four days just collecting rosehips. That makes a lovely syrup but then what? Juicing two baskets of apples to make vinegar takes precious time and this has to be balanced with the amount of energy expended versus caloric return. He is a thoughtful and introspective guy, as one would have to be to survive this regimen. He reads, meditates, practices Taijiwuxigong and wishes he had a girlfriend. As he says; "Real being? Awakening? Foraging Buddahood or perhaps just fool's gold?" Follow his progress day by day. :: Fergus Drennan Via :: The Ecologist